Free drink while playing?

jamieh

Hi all,

Could someone tell me, is it the norm in most pubs to give musicians free drink (within reason) when their playing or is that a thing of the past?

...just need to settle a small dispute

off.the.walls

jamieh wrote: »

Hi all,

Could someone tell me, is it the norm in most pubs to give musicians free drink (within reason) when their playing or is that a thing of the past?

...just need to settle a small dispute

THe only place i know that does that is sweenies on dame street

PMI

Depends on the place....

sometimes they fill a fridge, sometimes your get 1st one only, sometimes its every one that you approach the bar for etc... it changes

BUT: at no point should it affect your big stack of cash you recieve at the end of the night

the_barfly1

In fairness you shouldn't drink while playing anyway! I find it a wee bit unprofessional so would only ever have one at the end of the night, which the bar staff usually give on the house
But in answer to your question, i've played quite a few places that offer free beer to the band during the night... And also witnessed the downsides of such a policy while attending gigs!

S.R.F.C.

I'd say it's pretty hard to give a general answer as it varies from place to place, i've found some venues very generous (possibly too generous!) and others wouldn't dream of giving you one.

louloumc89

What has happened for us a couple of times is that we get sold cost price cases of beer (25 bottles for 30 quid), which we like. Often we get a couple of free pints from the bar man if he's the manager, or sometimes we get given a case of beer on the house..which we like the most. We're also told that we can bring a case of beer and keep it backstage, which is fun too.

(we wouldn't drink more than a bottle or maybe two each before/during a gig.)

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4

we havnt gotten free drink in a while! We wouldnt drink too much anyway, cant be taking toilet breaks during a 2 hour cover list, combine that with packing all the gear into flight cases, loading the gear and driving home.

eoin5

I've seen it mostly for trad sessions, the difference being they dont get paid.

re.mark.able

I think it could be up to the organiser and what agreement of payment they have with the venue, i was at a gig not too long ago in sweeney's where that was the case.

Fandango

eoin5 wrote: »

I've seen it mostly for trad sessions, the difference being they dont get paid.

Yea, ive seen it alot for Trad sessions alright. Very few venues these days give free drinks to the band in any kind of numbers. A few put some backstage for you and a couple of times we have been bought (given) a round by the manager of the venue but not many will give free drinks from the bar unconditionally these days.

drumdrum

From what Ive seen in the past is that it depends on the success of the band of drawing a crowd. If the numbers are up and the bar sales are good, Ive known a manager or two to throw a few drinks the bands way.

Since the recession though, Ive hardly seen it done anymore though. Places just get stingier and greedier and jack up the prices at any chance they get... :mad:

Fandango

drumdrum wrote: »

From what Ive seen in the past is that it depends on the success of the band of drawing a crowd. If the numbers are up and the bar sales are good, Ive known a manager or two to throw a few drinks the bands way.

Since the recession though, Ive hardly seen it done anymore though. Places just get stingier and greedier and jack up the prices at any chance they get... :mad:

I think your right there. Its usually when the place is fairly packed that they throw a few drinks your way. There are some overly generous venue managers out there also tho hehe